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Police seek couple after taxi driver assault

Caroline Zielinski

A taxi driver has been left battered and terrified after a man and a woman brutally attacked him before stealing his cab and trying to run him over in Melbourne's north-east overnight.

Hamid, a 30-year-old father of two, picked the couple up on Brunswick Street, Fitzroy, about 1.20am on Sunday who directed him to Gotha Street in Heidelberg Heights.

Detective Senior Constable Brendan Riddell said the couple initially told Hamid they would get money from inside a block of flats after he stopped on Bell Street, Heidelberg.

"But when he asked for the fare, they became aggressive and demanded he pull his wallet out," Detective Senior Constable Riddell said.

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Hamid said it was primarily the man who became very aggressive and started to punch him in the face and head.

"And then he tried to kill me - like, he [took my cab and tried to hit] me, and I was just trying to save myself in that time," he told reporters. Hamid said he pleaded with the woman to help him, but she ignored him.

"I asked her to please stop him ... [because] he was hitting me a lot - on my face, on my head and in my stomach, and I also have a pain in my leg.

"I was really upset, I was crying and I couldn't breathe - he tried to kill me."

The terrified taxi driver said he then ran into the front yard of a nearby home to avoid being run over by the offenders.

"I was just trying to save myself in that time, so I ran off and he took my cab and tried to run me over," Hamid said.

"He hit me and I fell down, and then I went into the home, because I knew the car couldn't come into the front yard.

"I was hiding, and I was going for help, and trying [to call] the police".

Hamid, who has been a taxi driver for one year, said he was unsure if he would drive again.

"I'm afraid for my kids, because I'm their father, and I'm scared what they would do in the future if this happened again.

"Nothing like this has ever happened to me before."

Detective Senior Constable Riddell called the attack "brutal and frightening".

"[The attack] was quite frightening and quite brutal.

"The taxi driver was just trying to go about his work and was set upon by these passengers."

Police have since searched for the attackers at the block of flats, but have not managed to find them.

CCTV images of the man and woman, taken from the taxi camera, have been released to the public.

The man is described as being of European appearance and solid build. He was wearing a light-coloured vest, white T-shirt and jeans at the time.

The woman is described as fair-skinned with long, blonde hair, and was wearing a light-coloured, woollen jumper.